Charlie Y
by Gainsborough
Summary: Charlie Evans, the socially awkward young man with the powers of a god, has returned to the Enterprise with a different attitude and new ambitions. Kirk sees this an opportunity to rectify an old mistake, but when he allows Charlie to join the crew, has he bitten off more than he can chew?
1. Chapter 1

_Star Trek_

Charlie Y

Captain Kirk opened his eyes to find a green face on the wall above his bunk.

"My apologies for interrupting your reproductive activities, Captain," the Thassian said.

Kirk was unphased by the interruption, having learned to stay on his feet (so to speak) no matter what the universe had to throw at him. Likewise there was no point in arguing about protocol: the Thassian had apologized for barging in, and an omnipotent being didn't have to apologize to anyone. Kirk realized that acting put-out would be the pinnacle of pettiness.

(Pump, pump, pump)

"Not at all, is there something I can help you with?" Kirk said.

"Who are you talking to?" Shelly said, lifting her head from the pillow.

"Charlie Evans has once again escaped from our custody, and he has somehow discovered a way to avoid our surveillance. We believe he will find his way to you, Captain."

(Pump, pump, pump)

"What makes you think that?" Kirk asked. Sherri let out a gasp as she saw the face on the wall.

"After he returned with us, he proved to be obsessed with your ship and its crew. We created a special viewer so that he could follow your adventures. Unfortunately that only increased his obsession," the Thassian said. "He used the knowledge he gained from controlling your vessel to build the craft with which he made his escape."

"We'll keep an eye out for him," Kirk said. "I take it you're on your way?"

"Yes, we should arrive within one of your weeks, Captain. Please be careful, and gentle, with Charles,"

The face faded away.

"Sherri, we're going to have to wrap this up, I'm needed on the bridge," Kirk said.

Sherri laid her head back down on the pillow and let out a long sigh. "Of course, I'm only the mistress, Jim Kirk is married to his ship, everyone knows it."

* * *

Out on the Perseus arm, almost 1000 light years from Earth, a rogue planet meandered

through the cosmic gulf. The planet was many times larger than the Earth, and was what is known on Earth as an ice-giant. There was no solid surface and its core was composed of methane and ammonia mush crushed under the pressure of 10 atmospheres.

High up in this blue-green planet's atmosphere glided a slab of stone, perfectly smooth and symmetric. A shaft of oxygen-nitrogen gas penetrated the hydrocarbon atmosphere until it reached the vacuum of space. A ship that looked identical to the U.S.S. Enterprise, but only a hundredth of its size, flew down the shaft and hovered over the slab. The observation bubble on top of the saucer section flipped open, a ladder descended, and a young fellow crept out.

"Hello?" he called. "Is anybody home?"

A moment passed in silence, then a green sparkle of energy materialized above Charlie.

"Hello Charles, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?" a female voice said from the sparkle.

"You know me?" Charlie said, bewildered.

"We have observed your passage here, and have learned many thing about you. Again, why are you here?"

"This is where Trelane lives, right?" Charlie said.

"Yes, this is where Trelane dwells," the sparkle said.

"Well, I've learned a lot about him, and I was wondering if he'd like to spend some time with me," Charlie said, a gleam in his eyes.

"I'm afraid not. Trelane has been abusing his powers, and has yet to show any remorse for his actions. He will not be allowed to leave this place until he has learned his lesson." the sparkle replied.

"But he's young, he should be around other people like him; like me. We could learn an awful lot from each other," Charlie said.

"I'm afraid not Charles. I fear you must find the companionship you seek elsewhere," the sparkle said.

"But you can't just confine him like that! He's got to have fun, he's got to live!" Charlie said.

Suddenly he was bathed in red light, he covered his eyes. When the light was gone, he discovered that he was back in his ship, floating free in space, with the rogue planet nowhere to be seen.

"Go home, Charles," the sparkle's voice said from all around him. "The Thassians may not be to your liking, but they're the only family you've got."

* * *

 _Captain's Log, Stardate 6289.2_

 _I have been informed by a member of the Thassian race that Charles Evans may be returning to the Enterprise. I often find myself mourning the young boy who had the powers of a god, but the understanding of a child. I was unable to help him, and even though his return may prove a danger to my crew, I can't help but hope that I have been given a second chance to reach this troubled soul._

"So I am thinking, this is the perfect opportunity. The ambassador was not only a guest instructor at the Academy when I was there, she also spent five years teaching at the University of Moscow. I am, as they say, in like Flynt. Then I plan to talk to her at the reception, and she's an old girlfriend of the Captain's!"

Sulu grimaced. "Of all the bad luck. Of course, I think the probabilities are against you."

"What makes you say that?" Chekov said.

"The Captain lives up to the old saying: a girl in every port. Do you know how many populated planets there are in this quadrant alone?" Sulu said.

The turbolift hissed open, Chekov looked over his shoulder and blanched. He then turned back to his console.

"I think my ears are burning, gentlemen," Kirk said as he sat in his command chair.

"Strange, since Chekov is the one with bright red ears," Sulu noted.

Chekov grimaced, but said nothing.

"Mr. Spock, are you picking up anything on long-range sensors?" Kirk asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Captain," Spock said.

"Keep me posted, I have been told to expect visitors," Kirk said.

"Sir, I wasn't aware of any incoming transmissions," Uhura said.

"This information came through… other channels, lieutenant," Kirk said.

Kirk rose from his chair and strode out in front of the viewscreen. The entire bridge crew gave him their attention.

"It has come to my attention that we may soon be entertaining an unexpected guest. Some of you weren't present the last time he was here, so I feel the need to warn-" Kirk's eyes turned to Spock, who had responded to a beep on his console, and was now looking through his scope. "Something, Mr. Spock?"

"A spacecraft, heading towards us at Warp Factor 6," Spock said.

Kirk rushed back to his command chair. "Put it on the viewscreen."

The screen filled with the blackness of space, there was a silver speck moving across it.

"Magnify," Kirk said.

"Is that a Constitution class?" Sulu said in fascination.

"Negative, appearances aside it is only twenty meters in length," Spock said.

"That's impossible!" Chekov ejaculated. "You can't get to warp 6 with nacelles that small!"

"The ship is decreasing speed," Spock said, and began verbally counting down to Warp Factor One. "The ship is at impulse, it is moving along an intercept vector."

"Captain, I've gotten a request from the vessel, text only, asking for permission to dock," Uhura said.

"Permission granted," Kirk said, and flicked a control on his command chair. "Bones, meet me in the hangar bay."

"Acknowledged," the tired, possibly hungover, voice said from the intercom.

Kirk flicked the switch again. "Security, send a team to the hangar bay, but wait for me to get there before you go in. There is no need to be armed."

Kirk rose from his chair, the entire bridge crew was looking at him, confused.

"Some of you were here the last time we had an encounter with Charlie Evans. For those who weren't, he is a troubled young man with extraordinary powers, who couldn't quite manage to fit into human society. I ask that you treat him with compassion, while still maintaining decorum and following protocol," Kirk said.

"Mister Spock, you're with me," Kirk said as he strode to the turbolift.

As soon as the turbolift doors closed, Spock turned to his captain.

"Permission to speak freely, sir," Spock said.

"Of course," Kirk said.

"I question the wisdom of allowing Charlie Evans to return to the Enterprise," Spock said. "He is responsible for the deaths of 17 people, for which he has never shown remorse. In addition he is responsible for the temporary displacements of two crewmembers, the defacing of one other, and the transformation of yet another into a reptile."

"Noted. But you do realize, Spock, that I couldn't have stopped him from coming aboard, even if I wanted to," Kirk said. "There is an old Earth phrase from the island of Japan. 'A bend of the neck will not cause your head to fall off.'"

Spock furrowed his brow. "I do not argue with the statement's truth, but I fail to see the relevance."

"It means, Mr. Spock, that we lose nothing by being polite," Kirk said "... and kind." He added, remembering the Thassian's request.

Several moments passed in silence.

"A most curious proverb, captain. Am I correct in assuming that there is a veiled threat within it?" Spock said.

"I doubt it, the warriors that came up with that phrase only beheaded people they considered honorable," Kirk said.

"Fascinating," Spock said.

* * *

Captain Kirk, Commander Spock and Doctor McCoy stood before the miniature version of their ship.

"NCC-1702," Kirk read off the saucer section.

"U.S.S. Charlie," McCoy finished, with a smug grin..

Ben Carter, the captain of the Columbia, the real NCC-1702, would be pissed Kirk thought.

"His duplication of the ship indicates a vast technical knowledge, but little imagination," Spock said.

"Some things don't need to be said, Spock. Especially when there's an omnipotent child within earshot," McCoy said.

As if on cue, the observation dome on the saucer section flipped back and Charlie Evan's head popped through the opening.

"Hello Captain!" he said with a smile.

"Hello Charlie, that's quite a ship you've got there," Kirk said.

"It sure is! I tightened every bolt on her myself, she's the best ship in the fleet!" Charlie said.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "There are more ships of this type?"

"Well, no," Charlie said, looking uncomfortable. "It's just, that's what the captain always says about the Enterprise… Anyway, permission to come aboard, Captain?"

"Only on the condition that you don't use your powers while you're aboard my ship," Kirk said.

"Sure," Charlie said.

Kirk was taken aback. "Charlie, you aren't just saying what I want to hear, are you?"

"No, honest I'm not," Charlie said.

A tense moment passed in silence.

"Very well, permission granted,"

Charlie ducked back into his ship, and threw a chain-link ladder was over the saucer, he climbed down it and dropped to the deck below.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Charlie?" Kirk said.

"I want to join your crew!" Charlie said.

McCoy and Spock exchanged glances; Spock with upraised eyebrow, McCoy with a sigh.

"You want to join my crew?" Kirk said.

"Yeah. The Thaasians built me a viewer so I could see what you and the crew were up to, and I began to understand what this ship and its mission are all about. You seem to have gotten into a rut in the last year, so I thought I'd join up and liven things up!" Charlie said.

"Charlie… The question of you joining the Enterprise crew is neither here nor there. The Thassians know you left, they're coming for you," Kirk said.

"Don't worry about it," Charlie said.

Kirk wondered if Charlie knew something he didn't about the situation; if so, he wondered what it was.

"Very well, then. We can talk about joining Starfleet later. For the moment, there is someone I'd like you meet," Kirk said, motioning for Charlie to follow him.

As they walked through the corridors, Charlie rushed to keep up with him.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to Janice, I haven't seen her on the viewer for over two years," Charlie said.

"She was transferred off the Enterprise during our last stop at Starbase 11," Kirk said. "The last I heard, she's back on Earth."

Charlie's face fell. "That's too bad, I was hoping I'd see her again."

Kirk said nothing; the less said about the doomed crush Charlie had on his yeoman, the better.

When they reached the conference room, someone was already sitting at the table, an attractive middle-aged woman with long dark hair and sparkling green eyes. She rose as they entered.

"Charlie, this is Ambassador Glasow, an old friend of mine," Kirk said.

"Please, call me Sherri," the ambassador said, as she offered her hand. Charlie shook it earnestly.

"The ambassador is hitching a ride with us to Cardassia Prime, where she'll open the Federation's first embassy. In the meantime, she has agreed to work with you, Charlie-" Kirk said.

"Work with me?" Charlie said. "What do you mean?"

"I have a solid background in psychology and sociology; it's what makes me a good diplomat," Sherri said. "Kirk has told me that you had trouble being in the company of other people because of your isolated upbringing."

"I don't need her help!" Charlie said.

"Charlie, you're being rude," McCoy said. "Apologize to the lady."

"I'm not like I was, captain, you have to believe me! I won't do anything like what I did last time!" Charlie said.

"Charlie…" Kirk stopped, he felt the dreaded tingling sensation that meant that Charlie was about to use his powers. "Don't! Remember your promise; if you use your powers, we're through. You can get the hell off of my ship."

The tingling disappeared, but Charlie continued to scowl.

"There is no shame in admitting that you can't do something" McCoy said. "The hardest part about learning is admitting that you aren't an expert. It's all downhill from there."

"Well maybe you better teach me to be a mechanic, so I can treat tin gods like you," Charlie said.

The table was swallowed in silence for a few moments, then McCoy burst out laughing. Charlie gave him a toothy grin.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Spock said.

"Ask me some other time, Spock," McCoy said. "A good sense of humor will take you far, Charlie. It's encouraging you've grown one since we met last."

Charlie looked down, blushing.

"If you gentlemen will excuse us," Sherri said. "Charlie and I have a lot to talk about."

"Of course," Kirk said, rising from his chair. "We'll leave you to it."

* * *

It was just past 2300 hours when Jim's door chimed. He looked up from the print edition of Lieutenant Hornblower he had been squinting at. "Come in," he called.

Sherri strode in; she looked as lovely as ever, Jim noted.

"Good evening, can I pour you a drink?" Jim said.

"No thanks, it's too close to bedtime," Sherri said.

"Ah yes, I've taken more than my fair share of elbows to the ribs and face when you've had a few before turning in," Jim said.

Sherri took a seat on the lounger next to his bunk.

"So, what are you thinking?" Kirk said.

"He has a rudimentary sense of morality, as well as social skills. However I think he developed both from watching the Enterprise crew on the viewer. He's parroting things like the Prime Directive and civil rights without understanding why the concepts are important, or how we came to the current ethos. I suspect his social interactions will be equally shallow; whenever someone breaks what he accepts as protocol, there's no telling what he would do."

"There would also be situations where the expected behavior is not something he'd want to do; which is why I couldn't be happier that Yeoman Rand is back on Earth," Jim said.

"Jim, he wants to be part of your crew," Sherri said. "And I think it would be the best thing for him."

"Out of the question," Jim said, with a shake of his head.

"It would give him structure, and it would also keep him busy. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, remember," Sherri said.

Jim let out a long sigh of resignation. "It probably doesn't even matter, the Thassians will arrive soon, and all this will be academic."

"Do you have any idea when they'll get here?" Sherri said.

"They said it would take a week. At warp nine it would take them three days to get here, but they might be able to travel faster than that," Jim said.

"So for those three days at least, you let him have his dream. That'll help me prepare my defense," Sherri said.

"What's that?" Jim said, trying to hide a sly half-smile.

"Come on, Jim, you didn't get me involved just to be his baby-sitter. You're hoping I can make the argument to the Thassians that you couldn't. This time, you want to make sure they let him stay," Sherri said.

"Am I that transparent?" Jim said with a sultry grin.

"Luckily I'm going to let you get away with it," Sherri said. "The challenge alone is reason enough. But Charlie… he reminds me of another socially awkward boy I knew back at the academy."

"Fortunately I didn't have the powers of a god," Jim said with a grimace.

"You had that smile; it was dangerous enough!"

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

_Star Trek_

Charlie Y

Chapter 2

At 1700 hours the next day Sherri Glasow arrived at Charlie's quarters, as she had promised. She was about to press the buzzer when the door slid open; she felt herself jump a little. Charlie's powers of perception had been increased by the Thassians, apparently as a necessary complement to his powers. He had noted that while he could choose not to use his powers, he couldn't remove the expanded awareness he had been gifted with.

Charlie was sitting on his desk chair, looking glum.

"Hello Charlie, how did you first day as an acting ensign go?" Sherri said, pulling up a chair beside him.

"It was awful," Charlie said. "I think Chief Scott is going to have my transferred."

"Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"They don't like me there! I tried to do my best, but they just kept getting angry," Charlie said.

"Tell me what happened," Sherri repeated.

"Well I got there early, like you said, and the chief had me mind the alert board for the first couple of hours. He got mad because I talked like him," Charlie said.

"What do you mean 'talked like him'?"

"Well, like he asked me if there were any problems, and I said 'Thare haven't bin ony kinch a' mornin', chief.' And then he got mad."

"Charlie, he thought you were making fun of him," Sherri said. "You know, the way he talks."

"But I like the way he talks!" Charlie said. "People like him, and I thought if maybe I sounded like him…"

"You should never imitate another person's manner of speech, Charlie. It's considered an insult, even if you weren't intending it to be,"

Charlie scowled. "Are all these rules written down somewhere?"

"Well, there are etiquette guides, but I don't think there's one for being a human on a starship," Sherri said. "I'll see if I can find anything. Anyway, keep going; what else happened?"

"Well, someone else took over the status boards, and I was one of the technicians that fixed parts of the engine. But since the captain won't let me use my powers, I had to figure out which tools to use to fix the problem," Charlie said. "It's really stupid! The captain may as well have made me promise not to use my hands!"

"Did someone say something to you?" Sherri said. "You sound very upset."

"Some of the other technicians were complaining that I was taking too long. I know how the whole damn ship works, and they think they're better than me!" Charlie seethed.

"Charlie, calm down. It's hard starting a new job, especially when you need to learn new skills quickly. Your crewmates are just frustrated, that's all. I think they should be a little more patient with you, but you also need to learn patience," Sherri said.

"But they were making fun of me!" Charlie said.

"When did they make fun of you?" Sherri asked.

"Well one of them was telling me how they couldn't safely go much faster than Warp 8.7, I suggested that they could safely travel at Warp 9 and above by raising the melting point of dilithium. Everyone started laughing," Charlie said.

Sherri looked at him, stunned. "You can change the melting point of a substance? For everyone, everywhere?"

"Yeah,"

"Charlie… I need you to understand just how important this is… You can't go around arbitrarily changing fundamental aspects of the universe," Sherri said.

"Why not?" Charlie said.

"The universe as we know it can only exist if those sort of things remain constant; if you were to change the boiling point of water, for instance, entire civilizations could cease to exist," Sherri said.

"Fine, I won't then!" Charlie said.

Sherri did her best to collect herself, forcing herself not to sigh in frustration.

"There must have been some good things that happened."

* * *

"Aye, I suppose there was, captain," Scotty said, and then took a swig of whiskey.

The two of them sat in Scott's quarters, sampling his extensive collection of hard liquor. It seemed the good way to take an edge off of Scotty's frustrating day.

"Ya know those lousy dilithium crystals we got from Direidi? The ones that keep cracking and popping in the warpcore?"

"Of course, I wrenched my neck the last time we dropped out of warp, it still hurts," Kirk said.

"Well, I was deionizing the chamber, and he was following me around asking stupid questions, like 'whatever happened to ensign Romaine?' and 'what was it like to be possessed by Jack The Ripper?'... Anyway, he looked at the crystals, and asked if I knew that they had deuterium bubbles in them," Scotty said.

Kirk took a surprised swallow. "And did you?"

"Of course not captain, you canna use scanners on dilithium, the signal doesn't bounce back. They passed visual inspection, but they have those purple and red imperfections that make it hard to see all the way through 'em. But we were able to find 'em, and with the help of a dental drill we borrowed from Dr. McCoy we were able to drill shafts in there to release them, and then fill them up xenonic resin," Scotty said, beaming with pride.

"So you're comfortable with him remaining on the engineering team?" Kirk said.

Scotty's grin disappeared. "If it was up to me, sir… It's that he just doesn't fit in."

"A leader assumes his crew's faults as his own, he doesn't use them as an excuse," Kirk said with a glare.

"It isn't just that doesn't fit in, some of my crew have told me that they're afraid of him," Scotty said.

Kirk nodded sadly. "Because of what happened last time."

"No, sir," Scotty said. "Every time I sent him to do something, he'd complain about the tools he had to use, and how he could do it so much better if he could use his powers. He kept getting more and more frustrated, and then he started to get angry.

"I decided to get him away from engineering to give him time to cool down, so I had him show me his ship. He told me about how he created it with his mind and bare hands. Captain, someone who can do that isn't going to be content with realigning the deflectors or deionizing the warp core."

Kirk rubbed his chin. "I think you may be right, Scotty."

"He's a real smart lad, don't get me wrong, and I think he's trying his best. This just isn't the job for him."

2200 hours found Charlie sitting on his bunk and scowling at the bulkhead. He sensed the Captain as he was approaching; he sighed and went to let him in. The captain looked startled as the door opened, but quickly recovered. In his hands he was holding a mound of blue fabric.

"Good evening, Charlie, I just wanted to have a little talk with you," Kirk said.

"I'm out of the engineering team, aren't I?" Charlie said, and stood aside to allow the captain entry.

"Chief Scott and I have decided that your inexperience with Starfleet engineering techniques makes his team a bad fit. I'm afraid that's my fault; due to your experience with the ship systems and the accomplishment of building your own ship, I thought you would be a natural fit. I didn't take into account that you and the engineering crew have very different M.O.s."

"MOs?" Charlie said, furrowing his brow.

"Modus operandi," Kirk said; Charlie didn't look any less confused. "It means they way people do things."

"Then why don't people just say that?" Charlie said.

Krik rubbed his chin. "I'm really not quite sure, Charlie. In any case," he said, holding up the uniform. "You can ditch the overalls and put this on. Starting at the beginning of the morning's shift, I want you on the bridge, working with Mr. Spock."

Charlie looked uneasy. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Remembering when you made recite poetry, eh?" Kirk said. "I wouldn't worry about it, Vulcans don't hold grudges."

Charlie wasn't sure he believed that; Mr. Spock treated all humans with disdain so it was hard to tell.

"I expect you at your station at 0600 sharp, ensign," Kirk said, turning to leave.

"Of course sir, I won't let you down," Charlie said.

"Glad to hear it," Kirk said.

* * *

When Kirk got to the bridge at 0547 Charlie had already gotten in over his head. The precious lad was attempting to hit on Lt. Uhura. Kirk felt sorry for him; it reminded him of when he was a kid back in Iowa and he took Tripp, his dog, to the vet to get fixed. He remembered him sitting on the floor of the waiting room, panting and wagging his tail, not knowing that he was about to emasculated forever. Charlie had the primate equivalent of that expression of ignorant bliss on his face.

'Hello lieutenant, I'm Charlie Evans, we met before, but you won't remember it because of Nomad," Charlie said. He invaded her personal space and stroked her cheek. "But you found me… charming."

"I very much doubt that, ensign," Uhura said. "If I'd wanted to play with children, I would have been a preschool teacher."

Sulu looked up from his station and grimaced. Chekov put his head down on the console.

"You didn't have to be so mean about it," Charlie said, his faux-sauve attitude dropping.

"Let me give you some advice, ensign. As a communications officers, the first thing you learn is not to waste energy transmitting when the recipient is turned off," Uhura said.

Kirk was now standing behind Charlie.

"She's right Charlie, you only use a line like that if you're absolutely sure she likes you," Kirk said.

"But how will she like me if she doesn't know me?" Charlie said, exasperated.

"That's the trick, Charlie, they can't. You need to get to know people, first as acquaintances, and then as friends. Once you get to know them well enough, you'll be able to determine if they'd welcome a relationship," Kirk said. "You need to crawl before you can walk."

"So that's how it works," Charlie said in wonder.

Kirk smiled inwardly; the boy was getting better.

"I suggest you go talk to Mr. Spock, I'm sure he has your duties all lined up for today," Kirk said.

Charlie nodded and walked off.

"I'm very impressed with your courage, Lieutenant," Kirk said. "Standing up to a god like that. Who knows what he could've turned you into."

Uhura shrugged. "I'm a member of this crew, captain. We stand up to gods all the time."

Insert Line HereInsert Line Here

Mr. Ears, er, Mr. Spock didn't seem too impressed with Charlie. He continued to look into the scope at his station for two whole minutes before he looked up.

"Ah, Ensign Evans," he said cordially. "The captain has informed me that you will be working with me at the science station until further notice."

"I'm prepared to do my best," Charlie said, actually meaning it. Spock had no problem being rude and condescending, so his casual attitude suggested he thought highly of Charlie's abilities; or else he was adopting a wait-and-see approach.

"You will work at the long-range sensor console, at Science Station III. When the Enterprise moves through space, it does constant sensor sweeps of the surrounding area. The computer determines if there is anything threatening or that may be of interest, and relays it to my station. However most of the data is never seen by anyone, and ends up being transferred to the Starfleet navigation mainframe the next time we stop at a starbase.

"There are also, for several reasons, holes in this data which can be caused by any manner of interference. The captain has informed me of your enhanced perception, and I believe it can be used to augment the sensors," Mr. Spock said.

Charlie felt warmth flood into his chest. Here was something he could actually do to help; for once his unique abilities would be helping the ship and its crew.

"Of course, Mr. Spock, I'll do my absolute best, you can count on me!" Charlie said.

Spock seemed nonplussed by his eagerness, even raising an eyebrow. However, all he said was: "Glad to hear it, ensign. Please go to your station."

* * *

It was nearly chow time when Charlie found the ship. Kirk had been keeping an eye on him all morning; he had sat silently at the science station, poring over data, making adjustments to the equipment. Spock had gone over a couple of times to check on his progress, and seemed satisfied.

Charlie had suddenly gotten up from station and talked to Spock in hushed urgency. After a moment Spock rose from his chair and walked towards the helm.

"Mr. Sulu, bring up quadrant 50 by 70 on the main viewer," Spock said.

"Yessir," Sulu said, and began flipping switches.

A small patch of orangish light appeared in the upper left-hand part of the screen.

"Magnify," Spock said.

Kirk rose from his chair to stand next to his first officer. On the screen was a motley of shapes strung together with some purpose. There were vast sheets of some yellow-orangish thing material spread along metal supports, they were connected to a central ship that was shaped like a teardrop with a flared end. Kirk intuitively knew what the long sheets of thin material were: sails.

"I wasn't getting any messages from the computer about any ships in the vicinity," Chekov said.

"It's too small, irregular and metal-poor for a ship," Spock said. "The computer was registering it as a small asteroid, but Ensign Evans realized it was something else."

"It's a solar sailer of some sort," Kirk said. He turned towards Uhura. "Hail them."

"I've been trying, sir," Uhura said. "No response."

"We are more than five light years from the nearest star," Sulu said. "It must be adrift in interstellar space. It would take decades to get this far out of a solar system."

"How large is the cabin?" Kirk said.

"Thirty meters in length, about the size of one of our shuttlecraft," Spock said.

Kirk stared at the strange, beautiful craft floating in the emptiness of interstellar space. Then he smiled. "We're going to take a look. Mr. Spock, meet me in the transporter room in ten minutes, bring along Chief Scott."

"Captain, the micrometeoroid bombardment over such a long period would have almost certainly penetrated the hull. If we investigate, we will need pressure suits," Spock said.

"Whatever it takes, Mr. Scott. Engisn Evans," Kirk said, turning to Charlie. "You suit up as well."

"Really sir?" Charlie said.

"Yes, consider it a reward for a job well done," Kirk said.

"Thank you, sir!" Charlie said, and rushed to keep up with Mr. Spock, who was already on his way to the turbolift.

* * *

When the tingling of transport went away and Charlie returned to his sense, all he could see around him was blackness. He took a step and lurched upwards, slamming his head on the ceiling.

A beam of light cut the darkness; he saw the beige spacesuit that Captain Kirk had been wearing in the transport room.

"No gravity," his voice said over the com. "Switch on the magnets in your boots and then push away from the ceiling, Charlie. I suggest we all switch them on."

As he fumbled with the controls on the forearm of his suit, Chief Scott's suit flew past, perpendicular to the floor of the ship.

"No need for me, captain. After spending years in the orbital shipyards, you get used to it," Scott said.

Charlie switched on his own flashlight and looked around. The ship interior was composed of wood and some metal that looked like brass. There were observation windows built into all six walls. It didn't look like any ship Charlie had ever seen, in person or on his viewer.

The captain was examining a large device which was tethered to the ceiling. It consisted of brass gears and what appeared to be a small telescope.

The captain noticed his gaze. "It's a sextant, they used them on Earth to determine their location during ocean voyages."

"Actually captain, sextants are only capable of determining latitude. Longitude was computed using a chronometer," Spock said.

"Thank you, Mr. Spock," the captain said, with just a hit of sarcasm.

Charlie shone his flashlight around the ship, on the wall that something which may have just been a decoration, but might have been an emblem of some kind. It was an bisected oval, with a circle on the bottom.

Charlie took up his tricorder and snapped a picture of the emblem and ran a pattern search on it; it quickly found a match.

"Captain," Charlie said. "According to the computer, this is the emblem of the Republic of Bajor."

"Bajor is less than ten light years from our current location, captain," Spock said. "That is well within the range of this craft."

"What kind of ship is this, anyway?" Charlie said. "You said it was a solar sailer?"

"Yes, they're a primitive type of ship. They have giant sails made of thin sheets of metal, and they are pushed through space by pressure from the nearest star; what they sometimes call the solar wind," Kirk said.

"It must take a really long time to get anywhere that way," Charlie said. "That would be slower than impulse power."

"But with a craft this light," Scotty said. "And sails that big, they'd probably be able to get up to an eighth the speed of light. That's pretty good if you intend to stay within a star system."

Charlie walked towards the helm, continuing in his original orientation; Scotty was standing on the left wall, examining a pillar with some sort of crank built into it.

As he reached the front of the ship, Charlie stared out into the void through the vast window. Far off, no larger than the end of his small finger, was the Enterprise. He probably wouldn't have noticed it at all if it weren't for its blinking lights.

He swung the beam of his flashlight around the chamber and gasped.

"Captain," he said into the suit's communicator. "I believe I've found the pilot."

There was a single chair in the forward compartment, set before a console of antiquated controls. Strapped into it was the remains of a man in a pilot suit that was the same color as the ship's sails. There was an elaborate piece of jewelry on his right ear. Clutched in his skeletal hands was a metal case.

The captain ginergly took the case from the dead man's hands. There was a metal hinge at the top, and a simple catch at the bottom, which he released. Inside was a stack of paper affixed to the top; the box was actually a book.

"A true captain's log," the captain said wistfully.

Charlie watched as the captain flipped through several of the pages; it was written in some language he'd never seen before.

"Do you know Bajoran, captain?" Spock said.

"No," the captain said. "But I know someone who does."

* * *

It had taken Sherri nearly an hour to read through the ship's log; she then met the assembly of curious crewmembers in the mess hall as she sat with the log and read it to them in English.

They sat, rapt, as she told them the story of Iku Dulki, captain of _The Spirit of Tempasa,_ who had left Bajor 300 years ago to investigate strange occurrences in an area of Bajoran space known as The Celestial Temple.

He had encountered a phenomenon which he deemed The Eye of the Prophet, which had given him ship such momentum that he was incapable of slowing it down using the solar sails, and how he was helpless to stop the ship from leaving the solar system. Finally, she came to the last entry.

"I have been two days without food, and the air purifier is down to less than 5% of capacity. The air smells sour as carbonic acid forms in my nose and mouth. I can't understand why the Prophets would be so cruel; perhaps I had sinned by seeking out their secrets. But that can't be it, because the prophets have always told us to seek out knowledge and wisdom.

"When I saw The Eye of the Prophet, that glittering whirlpool of energy in the emptiness of space, my faith in the prophets had been strengthened to levels I hadn't known since I was a child. But as I sit here, my death almost certain, I'm can't help but wonder if the Prophets had nothing at all to do with it. At the Science Academy in Tempasa I've heard talk of black-holes which pop into existence and have a lifespan of several seconds. Some believe that the explosion that destroyed Hyloth so many years ago was this instead of a meteorite. Perhaps that's what I saw, and what ultimately lead to my death. It seems more comforting that the Prophets might not exist, than they might be malicious, or simply capricious.

"I continue to write this log in the hope that someone might find it who can return it to my family on Bajor; if the line of Iku even still exists at that point. Or perhaps I just continue it as an attempt to make sense of what's happened to me. I haven't written much about what happened to me before I started this journey, since that wouldn't seem appropriate in a ship's log. I suppose I could write something of that now, but the thin atmosphere has reduced my mental facilities, and it's hard to do even simple tasks now.

"I plan to switch off the air purifier before I go to sleep, so there will be no more entries. Even though I kept hope long after it was realistic to do so, I don't believe I've accepted my death until this very moment. I shall never see Bajor again, never see the sun set on the sea, or eat kola nuts again. The festival of Peldor has just begun, if my time-keeping is accurate. I had hoped to be back by now…"

Sherri looked up from the book. "That's the last thing he wrote."

Somber silence pervaded the room. There wasn't even the clink of utensils, everyone had long ago finished their dinner, and had stayed to hear how the story ended.

"Will we able to return the log to Bajor?" Uhura asked.

"I won't be able to," Sherri said. "The Cardassians consider tardiness to be an insult, so I must be there to assume by duties at the agreed upon date."

"I've sent a message to Starfleet asking for permission to take not only the log, but the ship in tow, back to Bajor. They were enthusiastic, especially since it would present an opportunity to open relations with such an isolated culture," Kirk said.

"You should be proud, Charlie," Sherri said. "Finding that ship was quite an accomplishment. The people of Bajor will be very happy to have this log."

"I.. uh, I mean, it was nothing," Charlie said, blushing.

Kirk clapped him on the shoulder too. "Humble, too. Keep up the good work, Charlie."

Charlie beamed with pride.

* * *

Kirk awoke with a sense of foreboding. He tried to puzzle it out as he looked at Sherri's sleeping form beside him. Then he had it: Chekov had calculated that it would take the Thassians a little less than three days to catch up with the Enterprise, and that had been more than two days ago.

They were running out of time to prepare his defense; that was, if the Thassians were even willing to listen, and wouldn't just spirit Charlie away without allowing them a say.

As luck would have it, Kirk ran into Charlie in the turbolift on their way to the bridge. He looked bright-eyed and enthusiastic; Kirk suspected he'd had a better night's sleep then he had.

"Captain, I was just thinking… Don't you think you should send someone to see if Khan and his men are all right?" Charlie said.

That would have thrown Kirk even if he'd had a good night's sleep. "I'm sorry, what?"

"On Ceti Alpha V. They might be having a really hard time of it. You could help them out, or maybe they'd prefer to go to prison instead of trying to build a colony there," Charlie said.

"Charlie, they're genetically augmented humans, they'll have no trouble surviving in that environment; we also left them plenty of supplies," Kirk said.

"But that's assuming nothing went wrong. They could have contracted a virus, like the one you ran across on Omega IV, and Psi 2000, and Gamme Hydra IV, and Miri's world, and-"

"I will not have my orders questioned!" Kirk said.

"Of course sir," Charlie said, and stood up straight.

They rode for several decks in silence.

"Besides… Starfleet feels any crew sent to resupply them or evaluate their progress would be in danger; they'd probably try to take over the ship, just like they did here," Kirk said.

"Ahh, I see," Charlie said.

After a few more decks, he spoke up again. "Captain, about Miri's world and Omega IV, I was always wondering-"

"Stop while you're ahead, Ensign Evans," Kirk said.

"Of course, sir," Charlie said.

* * *

Charlie would always resent that it was Spock who spotted them first.

"Ensign, there is an anomaly at 7000 kilometers by 62-degrees by 85-degrees, please train your perception upon it," Spock said.

"Yes sir," Charlie said, rising from his chair.

He peered into the scope and began adjusting the knobs. It didn't have the resolution of the main viewscreen, but he could focus it by himself and not call attention to what he was looking at. Which was for the best if it turned out to be nothing important, as it almost always was.

When the greenish blur came into the scope, he gritted his teeth. He knew there was no point in attempting to focus it for a clearer image, it would always appear blurry; the Thassian were like that.

Charlie backed away from the scope. Spock raised an eyebrow in interest, but said nothing.

How had he not sensed them? The feeling of their presence was unmistakable, even as far away as they were.

Charlie walked over to the captain's chair. The captain was currently writing something on an electronic clipboard. After a moment he looked up, curious.

"Captain," Charlie said, in a hushed voice. "They're here."

The captain pressed a button on the command chair. "Ambassador Glasow, please meet me in the briefing room."

He rose and motioned to Charlie to follow him. As they walked to the briefing room, Charlie tried to start a conversation multiple times, but the captain kept raising his hand to silence him. The ambassador was already there when they arrived.

The captain was the first to speak once they all sat down. "I've been putting off having this conversation, but the time has finally come when we must discuss your future, Mr. Evans."

"I can modify the shields so they can't take me. The thing is, I'll need to be able to use my abilities to do it. You don't have some of the materials I need," Charlie said.

"We don't want to antagonize them, Charlie," the captain said.

"He's right, Charlie. The first step in negotiation is to seek common ground between parties, where they can work out their differences in an environment free from antagonism," the ambassador said.

"You can't hand me over to them!" Charlie said.

"Charlie, if that is their wish, there is nothing we can do to stop them. However, they seemed willing to talk before, so-" the captain said.

"You need to let me protect myself, to protect this ship!" Charlie said. "You can't let them take me away, I'm part of your crew, I'm a human being!"

"Which is exactly the point we're going to make to them," the ambassador said.

"Talking isn't going to do anything! We need to defend ourselves! I can also modify the photon torpedos to disrupt their energy matrix-" Charlie said.

"Charlie, we are not going to attack them, especially not when unprovoked!" the captain said sternly.

"They have provoked you, they're going to take away a member of the crew!" Charlie bellowed, What was wrong with them? Why couldn't they understand?

Insert Line HereInsert Line Here

This was going horribly, Kirk thought. After yesterday he was hoping that Charlie had really changed, that he could become a fine starfleet officer, even if he didn't remain part of his crew. However the facade had developed cracks, and he saw the arrogant manchild… no, man _god_ that he had seen three years ago.

"Charlie last time we were unprepared, and I wasn't able to argue your case convincingly because I'm an explorer and military commander. However Sherri here is a diplomat, if anyone can convince the Thassians to let you stay, she can," Kirk said.

Charlie disappeared with a pop. A slight breeze tussled Kirk's hair as air rushed in to fill the vacuum where Charlie had been sitting. Sherri gasped.

"I suppose that could have..." Kirk started, but then buried his face in his hands.

"It might not be too late, Jim," Sherri said.

There was a whistle from the desk intercom. Kirk flicked it on.

"Captain, crewman Yang here," a voice said through the grille. "The hangar-bay doors have opened and have refused to close."

"Has the mini-Enterprise taken off yet?" Kirk said.

"No sir, it… Sir, it's taking off now!" Yang said.

"Take no action, crewman. Let it go," Kirk said, then sighed. "Kirk out."

Kirk connected the monitor to Uhura's station.

"Uhura, please attempt to contact Ensign… Charlie Evan on the frequency he previously used," Kirk said.

"Yes, sir," Uhura said, and stated flicking switches. After a moment she turned back to her monitor. "No response, sir."

"Mr. Sulu," Kirk said, switching the monitor over. "What speed and heading is Charlie's ship taking?"

"11 by 76 sir, he is now at Warp 6 and accelerating," Sulu said.

"Is the Thassian vessel still on our scanners?" Kirk said.

"No sir, it vanished around the same time that Evan's ship went to warp," Sulu said.

Kirk switched the monitor off and rubbed his face in resignment.

"You could probably still catch him, Jim," Sherri said.

"The mission comes first," Kirk said.

"It's carelessness, not tardiness, that offends Cardassians. If I arrive late for my assignment, and make it clear that I did so on purpose, they will think I'm antagonizing them, which is how they let each other know that they're serious," Sherri said.

"Even if we could talk him into coming back, this outburst undermines all the arguments we were going to make to the Thassians," Kirk said. "I really let myself believe that he could be a fine officer; I should have remembered what you said about him. He's just mimicking what he saw on the viewer screen; below the surface, he was still the angry boy that wreaked havoc and took over my ship. I guess people can't really change."

"If that were true, Jim, you'd be wasting your life away doing signal analysis in some galactic backwater," Sherri said.

Kirk couldn't even manage a smile.

* * *

Even traveling at Warp 9 it had taken Charlie five days to get to his destination. As he slowed to impulse within the comet-forming belt in the outer reaches of the yellow dwarf's solar system, he reached out with his perception.

Therefore he sensed, long before he saw, the vast asteroid belt that over 30 AUs in diameter. Mixed in with the rubble of the remains of terrestrial world was a miasma of gases and exotic ices that came from demolished gas and ice giants.

There were still planets that existed in towards the star, but Charlie had no interest in those. What interested him was the giant hollow shell that floated in orbit around the star. A hollow tube of neutronium, the substance which was not simply the hardest known, but the hardest possible.

Within that ancient shell was the ruins of a machine that had once been capable of tearing apart worlds. It had been silent for only a couple of years now, out of the millions which it had existed. Destroyed by the hero of civilization known as Captain Kirk.

He had hoped that the crew of the Enterprise would work with him to fight the Thassians; but he should have known that their idealism and physical fragility wouldn't have allowed it. Part of him was heartbroken over the missed opportunity; he had indeed wanted to be a member of their crew. There was an insufferable bitterness that came from coming so close to achieving your dream, but falling short.

As he had learned from Spock's experience on the Galileo, there were always alternatives, and he'd had a backup plan in case the crew of the Enterprise let him down. Already he was deciphering the mysteries of the ancient engine of destruction, and was beginning to believe that he could repair it; and he would. Because this dead husk and the power it contained were the only way to ensure that no one could ever impose their will upon him again.

To Be Concluded...

"How's all this going to end?" "You'll find out in the third chapter." "There is no third chapter!" "Don't you think I know that?! There will be... but not yet!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Star Trek_

Charlie Y

Chapter 3

 _Captain's Log, Stardate 6298.3_

 _The_ Columbia _has arrived in star system L-374, our mission is resupply and crew exchange for the long-term research mission investigating the ancient weapon that has destroyed many of the planetary bodies in this and other solar systems._

 _I have never in my life seen such complete devastation, only the two planets close to the sun remain; all of the terrestrial planets have been smashed into asteroids, and the gas giants have likewise been dismantled into vast wisps of gas and dust._

 _I can't help but think the this is what L-374 was like billions of years ago, when it was a protoplanetary disc. To think that a machine that is only a little larger than a starship was capable of doing this boggles the mind._

The massive hulk of the dead Doomsday Machine filled the entirety of the viewer.

Ben Carter shifted in his command chair. Once when he was a child there had been a hornet's nest on one of the trees in his yard. After being stung, his father has used insecticide on the nest, and then ripped it from the tree and thrown it in the gutter. It stayed there for almost a week; Ben would sit on the curb and stare at the empty husk. He knew that it was empty, that there nothing in there that could hurt him, but the very sight of it made the blood run cold in his veins.

Eventually he had set the husk on fire, and a summer shower washed the ashes down the storm drain. If only this husk was so easy to dispose of.

Ben turned to his Number One, the young man's eyes were fixed on the viewscreen, his face a mask of dread.

"Commander Tyler, did you ever know Matt Decker?" Ben asked.

His second-in-command's eyes shifted to look at him. "No sir, I'm afraid I never had the pleasure of meeting the Commodore."

Ben smiled. "He was a good man, one of the very best. Some of the very best out there served with him, and he taught them everything they know: Kirk, Wesley, Paris…"

"And you, sir, if I remember correctly," Tyler said.

"Well, there's a rotten apple in every barrel," he said with a wry grin, which quickly fell. "That thing destroyed everything he was. And that's what really scares me… I think we could take on and eventually defeat something that eats planets, but something that could destroy a man like Matt Decker?"

As they got closer the scaffolding surrounding the giant neutronium cone became visible onscreen. This was where the research crews worked and slept. The last shift had been here for six months; he couldn't imagine living in such close proximity to this leviathan for even a day.

"Hail the research station and have them prepare to take on supplies. I'll talk to Doctor Fielding about scheduling the crew-" Ben started.

"Captain," his science officer said. "Picking up a small craft approaching our location at Warp 7."

"Small? How small?" Ben asked.

"Approximately twenty meters in length," his science officer replied.

Ben stood up from his command chair. "On viewer, maximum magnification."

For a very brief moment Ben thought that Lt. Thorne had made a mistake, since what was on screen looked an awful lot like his ship.

"NCC-1702?" Ben read, aghast. " _U.S.S…. Charlie_? Is this some kind of practical joke?"

"A really spectacular one, with a craft with those small nacelles moving at Warp 7," Tyler said.

There was a flash of light, and suddenly people were everywhere, crowding the bridge. Some of the people were in space suits, others in starfleet uniforms or casual clothes; one man was completely naked except for a thin coating of soap bubbles. They all look as confused as he did.

"What the hell?" was all Ben could say.

One of the spacesuited figured pulled off its helmet, to revealed a bearded middle-aged man. Ben recognized him as Commander Riley, the leader of the research expedition.

"Captain Carter, I demand to know the meaning of this!" he said.

Ben was about to respond with the bridge lurched hard to port; all of the new arrivals were knocked off their feet and slid into the bulkhead. Ben managed to keep his footing by grabbing onto his command chair. Stars whirled by on the viewscreen and formed into spectral lines.

"Helmsman, report!"

"Recording speed off the scales, Captain", she managed. "Heading unknown."

"Reverse engines, maximum warp!" Ben said. Even if they weren't being propelled by the engines, providing thrust in the opposite direction of their momentum should slow them down and, eventually, stop them.

"Our speed is still not registering," the helmsman said. 'Impossible to tell if it's working."

Suddenly the ship stopped shaking as the unseen force suddenly let up; the ship then lurched to starboard.

"Reverse engines! Full stop!" Ben said, feeling like an idiot. This wasn't going in the captain's log.

The ship once again stopped shaking, and the deck kept level. People began to pick themselves off and dust themselves off.

"Full stop, sir," the helmsman said.

Ben sat down in his command chair and let out a sigh.

"Where are we?"

"Readings indicate we are in the middle of the Romulan Neutral Zone," the helmsman replied. "Just under 5 light years from Moore's star."

Ben blinked; they were on the other side of the quadrant, it would have taken the better part of a year to get here at normal speeds.

"Prepare an enciphered tight-beam dispatch to Starfleet concerning our predicament, and get us back into Federation space as quick as you can," Ben said.

"Yes, sir," his navigator and communications officer said in concert.

"Captain," a voice called from behind him. Ben swiveled his chair and saw Commander Riley, now bleeding from a wound in his forehead. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Your idea is as good as mine. I want you and my first officer to determine how many of your people are onboard, and who is missing," Ben said. "I have a feeling all of you were transported over."

"Transported by who?" Riley said, bewildered.

"I don't know… but whoever had the power to do that, and throw us this far across the galaxy, has the remains of the most dangerous weapon known to our sciences," Ben said.

Ben imagined the horrified expression on Riley's face mirrored his own.

"Excuse me, captain?" a voice said.

Ben turned and saw the researcher who had been transported over while showering.

"Could you possibly tell me where I can get some clothes?"

* * *

Charlie stood in the vacuum of space, perched on the saucer section of his Constitution Class starship counterfeit, staring into the maw of the destroyer. The mottled blue of the neutronium hull quickly gave away to blackness as if light itself was afraid of the power of the awesome machine.

He flew, with no visible means of propulsion, into the maw of the behemoth. He remained within the heart of the machine for days, studying it. He was amazed with its crudeness. Kirk and the rest had believed that this machine had come from some advanced race, using technology they'd never dreamed of. The truth was that the Federation could have easily built a ship like this.

The antiproton beam was a simple proton beam generator connected to an emitter through a matter-inverter; extremely crude and requiring an ungodly amount of power. The generators themselves were simple fusion engines, capable of fusing any type of matter lighter than iron; extremely inefficient, but also incredibly large and capable of providing huge power output if supplied with a constant stream of matter. They also spat out all kinds of exotic particles which would wreak havoc with any subspace communication.

The engines were even less impressive, they were the similar to the kind that Starfleet had used in their earliest days, before they discovered that dilithium could be used to breach the Warp 4 barrier.

Kirk had suggested that this weapon had been created as some sort of bluff, an unusable weapon that would frighten both sides into peace; but someone called the bluff and both sides had ended up destroyed. Charlie had seen that kind of thinking over and over again in his study of the history of Earth, a feeling of guilt of superior firepower. If a nation or planet had won a way be developing a powerful weapon, for years afterwards the literature and entertainment of that power would be filled with stories of how that weapon was used against them, sometimes even by the other side in the war, thanks to a time-traveller. It became an obsession, and Kirk had inherited that guilt, so he couldn't see the world killer as anything else.

Charlie knew better, though; this machine had not been created by the side that was winning, or even one that was in a stalemate. This was a weapon of vengeance, made to ensure that the winner of the conflict would not enjoy their prize for long. The beings who had created this weapon might have used up all their resources to ensure its completion.

Of the course of a week he repaired the inner-workings of the machine, replacing the crude vengeance-driven design with something of more elegance, like that of the _Enterprise_ or his own ship. In order to achieve speeds above Warp 4 he needed to add massive nacelles to the machine, which made it look like a _Constitution_ class ship without the saucer section.

Finally he parked his ship on top of the behemoth, turned it towards Thasus, and jumped to warp.

The machine was able to handle it for twenty minutes before it dropped out of warp. Whatever changes he'd made to the efficiency of the inner workings had been wiped out by the power requirements of the enhanced stardrive.

Charlie slammed his fists into the command console and let out a bestial scream. Then he let out a sigh and pulled up the astrogation charts. There was a good sized, uninhabited, solar system within 2 light years. He should be able to make that using the power he had left, but it would take nearly a week at warp 4.

He wished he could just whisk it across space, like he'd done with the _Columbia_ , but the machine was over ten thousand times more massive due to the neutronium shell. He would just have to bide his time then.

He just hoped that the Thassians didn't discover his plan in the meantime.

* * *

Jim Kirk stood on the balcony of the Temple of The Prophets and stared into the dense forest surrounding the city of Ashka.

"A very beautiful planet," Kirk said. "It reminds me a little of home."

"Except your Earth is not governed by a theocracy," Spock noted.

"Come on Spock, a little old time religion never did any harm," Doctor McCoy replied.

"On the contrary doctor, the examples from your own planet's history are too many to list; regardless, this planet's religion is the source of an iniquitous caste system imposed upon its inhabitants," Spock noted.

"Such systems have existed without theology, though," Kirk said. "The Vreen, for instance."

"The Vreen are a hive culture in which the members of each caste are physically dissimilar: in essence they can't even be treated as a single species, but as a collection of separate species living together in a symbiosis," Spock said. "Whereas the people of Bajor are one species, equal in ability and intellect."

"I wouldn't go that far. Kai Luze's assistant-what was his name?" McCoy said.

"Vedek Jaro," Kirk said. "He wanted us to call his Gud, though."

"Yes, if the entire species had the intelligence of Vedek Jaro, they never would've left the trees," McCoy said.

"It is disturbing that a warp-capable species could be so backward," Spock said.

"I don't see why you should find it all that disturbing. You think everyone aside from your green-blooded brethren to be backward," McCoy said.

"Gentlemen!" Kirk said. "As the Bajoran people show no interest in joining the Federation, it really isn't any of our business. We've arranged for an exchange of ambassadors, and that's all we could have hoped for from this mission."

"They were pretty happy to get the ship and its captain back," McCoy said. "Any idea what we're going to do with that barrel of… what was it called?"

"Latinum," Kirk said.

"Yes, any idea what we're going to do with that barrel of latinum they gave us?" McCoy said.

"Apparently it's rare out in this area of space, and is something of a commodity. Starfleet has said to keep or dispose of it any way we see fit," Kirk said.

"Maybe Spock can use it to buy a vacation home here, for when he retires," McCoy said with a smirk.

Spock's reply was cut off with a beep from Kirk's communicator.

"Kirk here," he said, after he flipped it open.

"Captain, we've gotten an urgent communique from Starfleet command," Uhura said.

"I'll beam up right away, Kirk out," Kirk said.

* * *

"Well," Scotty said, finally breaking the silence that had enveloped the briefing room. "At least the _Columbia_ got out of the Neutral Zone safely."

"Is that all you can say?!" McCoy replied.

Kirk rubbed his forehead. The unexpected assignment on Bajor had given him a chance for relaxation and peaceful reflection; but now all the tension was back.

He stared at the photograph that had been included with the communique, taken by one of the many probes that were being dispatched to the the sector that contained L-374 after the husk of the doomsday machine has been discovered missing. It was a full-length view of the planet killer as it fired its antiproton weapon; perched on top of it like an insect was Charlie Evans's ship.

Kirk let the photo fall to the table. "Mr. Spock, I want you to plot a course from L-374 to Thasus, taking into account the systems which contain planets. I want to know every possible chance we'll have to intercept him."

"Captain, are you certain that Thasus is his destination, and not Earth?" Spock asked.

"It isn't vengeance he's after, but freedom," Kirk said.

"That's a hell of an assumption to make," McCoy said.

"And if I'm wrong, Earth has an entire solar system worth of defenses. Thasus only has us," Kirk said.

"If they need us," Scotty said.

"If Charlie believes he can destroy them, I'd say there's a good chance he really can," Kirk said. "Spock, I need those intercept points as soon as possible."

"Of course, Captain," Spock said and rose from his chair.

"Scotty, we're going to need all the speed you can give us," Kirk said.

"Aye, sir," Scotty said, and followed Spock through the door.

The two of them now sat alone.

"So, what's the plan?" McCoy said.

"I need to talk to him, find a way to reach him, and make him change his mind," Kirk said.

"Because that worked so well before," McCoy drawled.

Kirk let out a sigh. "And I don't have Sherri to help me this time, and he shot holes into the case we were going to make to the Thassians."

"If anyone can talk him down, you can," McCoy said.

* * *

After exiting the turbolift, Kirk went straight to the science station. Spock looked up from the computer display, where he had been charting out the possible courses that Charlie could have taken.

"Spock," Kirk said quietly. "After our last encounter, I suspect you determined a way to destroy the planet killer."

"Yes, Captain," Spock said, in an equally hushed tone. "I believe a shuttle-craft, flown remotely, and containing eight photon torpedos would suffice to destroy the internal workings of the machine."

"Inform Scotty, he has a crew already standing by," Kirk said.

"Am I to assume that you are expecting your attempts to convince Mr. Evans to abandon his vendetta will fail?" Spock said.

"That machine must be destroyed, regardless of the outcome," Kirk said.

Spock left it unsaid, but Kirk was certain he understood. There were forces within the Federation that wanted the world killer. That was why so much time and resources had been spent on studying its remains; even though the official explanation was that they were creating a defense in case any other of the machines were found.

Kirk wasn't going to allow that to happen, and Spock had just agreed to be his accomplice. A wistful smile crossed his face.

"Something amusing, captain?"

"No, Mr. Spock, I was just thinking… how good it is to have friends."

* * *

In the end Spock was able to calculate three possible intercept points: three chances they would have to catch the planet killer before it entered Thasus's solar system.

The first intercept point was L-1138, specifically a super-Earth planet in far orbit around it. The Enterprise came out of warp near the heliopause, and its far-range scanners picked up the shattered remnants of the planet, and little more.

"Spock?" Kirk asked, looking up from his command chair.

"No subspace interference aside from the residual expected from an annihilation caused by the antiproton beam," Spock said. "The machine is not here."

Kirk sighed; although Spock calculated that they should be able to reach all 3 intercept points in time, it became dicier as they went on.

"Mr. Chekov, lay in the course for the next intercept point," Kirk said.

"Aye sir," Chekov said.

Kirk flicked the com switch on the arm of his control chair. "Scotty, I need you to give us as close to Warp 9 as you can."

"I'll give you all she's got, cap'n," Scott's voice said over the intercom.

It felt like the longest ten hours of Kirk's life, the torture he endured on Minara II not notwithstanding. He felt a surge of hope when the sensors found the outermost terrestrial planet to be intact.

Kirk untensed his shoulders and sighed with relief. "Looks like all we have to do is wait."

His relief ebbed away as he saw Spock moving about the science stations with obvious purpose: the closest he ever saw the half-Vulcan to being frantic.

Spock flicked a switch and the viewscreen switched to a band of blue gas occluding a bright star; Kirk quickly realized it was the system's sun.

"Captain, I had found a narrow band of gas and methane ices rapidly spreading approximately 30 AUs from the star. Our charts indicate this zone was once inhabited by an ice giant," Spock said.

"The energy ratio would be better," Sulu noted. "Plenty of hydrogen to fuse; why run on coal when you can have gasoline?"

"Is he still here?" Kirk asked.

"No subspace interference, captain," Spock said.

"Will his choice of fuel alter the course you computed?" Kirk said.

"Negative, I have calculated that the time he gained from consuming the ice giant will be offset by the fuel consumption and time required to alter his velocity by going farther sunward," Spock said. "He may, however, reach the final intercept point earlier than I anticipated."

"Mr. Chekok…" Kirk said, then corrected himself as he saw the orange, scaly head of his navigator. "I'm sorry, Mr. Arex."

Arex's cheek pouches puffed up and released a hiss of air that Kirk had come to recognize as an Edosian equivalent of a chuckle. "Very rarely are we confused, Captain."

Of course, he'd dismissed Chekov, as he'd already been pulling double shifts.

"Lay in the course for next… last intercept point," Kirk said.

"Yes, captain," Arex said.

It wasn't necessarily the last intercept point; there was one more chance to catch him after that, but he hoped it didn't get that far.

They were just outside of the heliopause of the star system and hadn't even left warp when Kirk knew they had him.

"Sensors are picking up massive subspace interference," Spock said.

\- "What heading?" Kirk asked. Unlike the other two star systems, they were entering this one at almost a right angle to the epileptic, so there was no most likely planet here. In fact he and Spock had soberly discussed whether Charlie might attempt to consume the system's star.

"32-degrees, 516 million kilometers," Spock said.

"Take us in," Kirk said.

They found the planet killer amongst swirls of verdant gas, the remains of another ice giant; the long cone was coated with methane frost. It was a surreal, and unbelievably beautiful sight. As expected, Charlie's ship was perched atop the behemoth, just behind the maw.

"Lieutenant Uhura, can you get a signal through?" Kirk said.

"No response on any subspace channels," Uhura said. "I'm trying radio frequency, also no response."

The subspace field hadn't affected ship-to-ship communications the last time they'd encountered it. However Charlie had improved the engine and was running with a better grade of fuel now.

"It's unlikely he'd have known to build a RF receiver into his ship," Kirk said, stroking his stubbled chin thoughtfully. "In any case, it won't affect the transporter beam… Sulu, are you picking up any shields on Charlie's ship?"

"None, sir," Sulu said.

The particles that were causing the subspace interface would probably make it impossible to form a shield that close to the hull.

After a quick trip to his quarters, Kirk walked into the transporter room.

"Do you have the coordinates, Mr. Wilson?" Kirk said as he walked up to the pad.

"Yessir, Mr. Spock transmitted them. Are you going over alone, sir?" Wilson said.

"It's probably for the best," Kirk said.

"Good luck, sir," Wilson said, warily.

"Thanks," Kirk said. "I'll definitely need it."

* * *

The interior of Charlie's ship wasn't what Kirk had expected. Given the outside appearance, he had expected the cockpit to be miniature version of his bridge. What he saw was much more in line with the cockpits of shuttles and small one-manned craft. There was a single chair, a single viewport, and an array of console that filled 270-degrees of the cockpit, the remaining 90 degrees being the entrance to the back of the saucer which housed the ladder leading up to the airlock, and a combination of library and galley.

The single chair swiveled around to face him. Charlie looked like he hadn't slept in years; which may have been the case. Kirk realized that he had no idea if Charlie required sleep, or if that was one of the basic needs that the Thasians had alleviated with their tinkering.

"Captain, I was wondering if we'd ever cross paths again," Charlie said.

His voice was tired, the usual pluck gone completely.

"Charlie, you have to stop this," Kirk said.

Charlie gave him a sad smile. "You still think you can reason with them? Make them let me go?"

Kirk shook his head. "Your actions have undermined the argument we were going to make. But you can't destroy the Thassians, Charlie."

"As long as they live, I can never be free," Charlie said. "I have no choice."

"If you've learned anything from watching us, you must understand the sanctity of life," Kirk said. "You can't kill them, especially as they only want to do what is best for everyone."

"Their life is so much like death already. No bodies, no emotions, really no sense of time at all. How can this be killing, when they aren't really alive to begin with?" Charlie said.

"Charlie-" Kirk began.

"Forget it, Jim," Charlie said. "You want me to surrender to them because you're afraid of me. You think I'm some kind of mad god, like Captain Garth was."

"No, I don't, Charlie. Both times you came aboard my ship, you tried to fit in. You could have taken control from the start, but I know you value acceptance and human company more than power," Kirk said.

Charlie stared at him in silence for several moments, then tears began to brim in his bright eyes.

Kirk walked over and crouched down next to Charlie.

"I once had a friend, he was actually my best friend, by the name of Gary Mitchell." Kirk said. "He saved my life once; he was a pain in the ass, but you couldn't ask for a better officer, or a better friend."

"What happened to him?" Charlie said.

"On the edge of our galaxy is a great barrier," Kirk said.

"Yes, it's an exposed cosmic filament, one of the few places where dark energy can be directly observed due to its interaction with the galactic vergence," Charlie said.

"Of course," Kirk tried to hide his astonishment. "When Gary Mitchell and another of my crew were exposed to the barrier, it activated latent powers within them."

"Yes, the ESPer powers which are the beginning of corporeal transcendence," Charlie said. "Something similar happened with the Thasians, they used special generators to stimulate the growth of their abilities. Once they were adept enough in their use, they were free from the need for any instrumentality."

"Uh, yes. As he became more powerful, he began to have less and less control over his actions. The human qualities that allow us to use power responsibly disappeared. In the end, I had to take his life," Kirk said.

Charlie scowled. "Are you threatening me?"

"No! Charlie, you have the control that Gary lacked. I wasn't able to save Gary, and I won't lose you as well," Kirk said.

"That really isn't up to you, Jim," Charlie said. "I will be leaving this system soon; in less than an hour. I suggest you go back to your ship while you still can."

Kirk reached behind him and took our a communicator, he sat it on one of the consoles.

"You can communicate with us using this; it's radio-frequency, the subspace interference will not affect it," Kirk said.

"I'm afraid I won't have much to say, Jim," Charlie said.

Kirk took his own communicator and flipped it open. "Kirk here, one to beam up."

* * *

Kirk strode onto the bridge and plunked down into his chair. He rubbed his mouth in frustration. Spock, Uhura, Sulu and Arex looked to him.

"Battle stations," he said.

His crew sprang to life, the red-alert klaxon blared.

"Mr. Spock, prepare to launch the shuttle," Kirk said.

"Yes, sir," Spock said. He moved over to the science stations that contained the interface to controlling remote devices such as probes. A viewscreen unfolded himself from the console at the press of a switch.

Kirk came to stand behind it, he watched in first-person point-of-view as the interior of the hangar vanished, to be replaced with open space. The ship came astern and faced down the massive hulk of the doomsday machine.

The machine was surrounded by a fog of ammonia and methane gas that it was devouring through its aperture.

"Maybe his view is obscured, he won't see it," Kirk mumbled.

Spock said nothing, but continued to work the controls. The shuttle was now perfectly lined up with the maw of the planet killer.

"Maximum impulse," Kirk said.

The maw grew larger and larger, through the dense fog he could now see the glowing fusion engines deep inside. Suddenly the fog began to glow yellow, and the screen went blank.

Spock flipped a couple of switches. "The shuttle has been destroyed."

"I suppose what would work against an automated system would be inadequate against a human intelligence," Kirk said with a sigh.

"It would appear so, captain," Spock said.

"Helmsman, place the _Enterprise_ in a plane which is tilted 17-degrees in reference to the plane of the machine," Kirk said. "And compensate to keep her there."

Spock gave him a quizzical look. "You aren't the only one who has been constantly refighting the battle of L-375, Mr. Spock."

Kirk walked back to his command chair and sat down.

"Orbit achieved," Sulu said.

"If I am correct, Mr. Sulu, you should have a bead on the maw of the machine," Kirk said.

"Yes sir, we should be able to hit it with both phasers and photon torpedoes," Sulu said.

"As long as we maintain this bearing, we can't be hit by the antiproton beam… Give them both barrels, lieutenant," Kirk said.

Sulu flicked a couple of switches; a moment passed and he repeated the action.

"Report, Mr. Sulu," Kirk said impatiently.

"I'm not getting any response from the weapons, sir," Sulu said.

Kirk flicked a switch on his command chair. "Phaser control, please respond."

"Captain, this is phaser control. Uh, sir, you're not going to believe this, but the phaser emitters and photon torpedo launchers have vanished," the voice said.

"Of course," Kirk said. Charlie had done some similar with all the hand phasers the last time he had visited.

"The machine is going to warp," Spock said.

A gaping hole appeared in the hydrocarbon fog, like a curtain being pulled back, and the planet killer was gone.

Kirk flicked another swtich. "Engineering, please tell me the warp engines are still present and accounted for."

"Uh… Aye, sir," Scotty's voice said.

"Mr. Arex, set course for Thasus, maximum warp," Kirk said.

"Yes, captain," he replied.

"What is our ETA?" Kirk said.

"11 hours, 23 minutes," Arex said.

Kirk sank back into his chair, and finally rose. "To everyone who has been pulling a double-shift, I suggest you get some rest."

There were some muttered acknowledgements.

As Kirk was waiting for the turbolift, Spock sidled up next to him and spoke quietly. "Captain, I have calculated that the machine will arrive at Thasus only two hours after we do," Spock said.

"And since he doesn't need to stoke the furnace, he doesn't need to come out of warp until he's right next to the planet," Kirk said. "Which means we will have little time, if any."

"My assessment exactly, Captain," Spock said.

"That's why I gave him the communicator," Kirk said. "So I would have a way to get through to him."

"But what could you say to him that you haven't already said?" Spock said.

Kirk clenched his hands into fists. "There must be something!"

* * *

Two hours later, Kirk still had no idea. He had been tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He welcomed the chirping from his desk console when it came.

"Kirk here," he said, flicking it on.

"Captain, I have the embassy on Cardassia Prime, as you requested," Uhura's voice said.

"Excellent, I'll take it in here," Kirk said, sitting down. He switched on the screen.

After a few moments of a blue void, the comforting image of Sherri Glasow appeared.

"Jim, you look like hell," Sherri said, concern belying her harsh words.

Kirk couldn't help but smile. "Diplomatic as always. How is the embassy doing?"

"Well, for the most part. We've had trouble getting supplies; I assumed at first they were being intransigent because they were expecting bribes, but it appears that you need to have a little antagonism in every transaction here on Cardassia; otherwise you're seen as weak," Kirk said.

"That reminds me of that time we tried some things out of that Klingon sex manual," Kirk said with a smile.

"The _Nga'chuq 'Ang_ , I remember it well," Sherri said with a perverted smile.

"You were a lot stronger than you looked," Kirk said.

"Did those two ribs heal satisfactorily?" Sherri said.

"Yes, but they tends to hurt on cold and humid planets," Kirk said.

A moment in silence passed as they showed plastic smiles to each other.

"You know what's happening?" Kirk said.

"Yes, the Federation sent out a communique to all outposts and embassies in the sector," Sherri said. "Do you think you'll be able to stop him?"

"I've tried… I talked to him, but I can't convince him to back down. He believes that killing the Thassians is the only way for him to have any control over his life," Kirk said.

"It's a story as old as Gilgamesh… No, as old as life itself; as long as there have been parents and children," Sherri said.

"Unfortunately Charlie doesn't have to do anything I say, so I can't even threaten to punish him," Kirk said.

Sherri sighed and shook her head. "It's obvious you never had children, Jim. There are other ways than punishment to get a child to obey. Have you considered bribing him?"

"You… aren't suggesting I ask one of my female crewman to sleep with him?" Kirk said.

"Of course not, and I would be surprised if that boy even knows what sex is," Sherri said.

"He knows a lot, he was just informing me of some properties of the cosmos that even Mr. Spock doesn't understand," Kirk said.

"Baah, that's nothing; back at the Academy I knew a genius at particle physics who is developing transwarp technologies, but he doesn't know the first thing about how to touch a woman," Sherri said.

"Perhaps he was more your brother's type," Kirk mused.

"No, that occurred to me too. He told me he'd had more fun talking to computers," Sherri said.

"Well, I can't think of anything to bribe Charlie with. With his powers he can create, or take, anything he wants," Kirk said.

"That he knows of," Sherri said. "That boy knows nothing about life. Think about when you were his age, what things did you discover that you liked?"

Kirk thought about his teenage years, living on _Tarsus IV_ amid the carnage of Kodos' reign. He remembered how he coped with the horror of what had happened, never leaving the house, rarely leaving his bedroom, sitting at his desk and…

And then Kirk knew how he was going to stop Charlie.

* * *

They had been in orbit for Thasia for more than an hour. Kirk sat in the command chair, his hands clasped together, staring into the vastness of space on the viewscreen.

"Captain?"

Kirk looked away from the viewscreen and saw Lieutenant Uhura standing to his left. She was holding a blue datacard out to him.

"Here is that special datacard you ordered," Uhura said.

"Thank you, lieutenant," Kirk said and took it.

Uhura gave him a worried look, but once she realized he wasn't going to say anything more, she returned to her station.

Kirk looked at the card he was absentmindedly turning over in his hand. Uhura had labeled it: BHB-S1 1962.

"Captain, I am detecting a ship approaching at Warp 6," Chekov said. "It has just dropped to impulse."

"When will it be within communicator range?" Kirk said.

Uhura was already trying the usual hailing frequencies, but he'd ignored those before.

"Approximately 50 minutes," Chekov said.

That would also be when it came within striking distance of the planet.

"Mr. Sulu, plot an intercept course," Kirk said.

"Aye, captain," Sulu said.

"Mr. Chekov…" Kirk started.

"I'll let you know, Captain," Chekov said.

The deck plates rattled and the bulkheads conducted the humming of the engines as they shot towards the massive engine of destruction.

"Captain, we are within communicator range," Chekov said.

In one motion Kirk took the communicator off the arm of his chair and flipped it open. He waited with bated breath for the beep which would indicate that Charlie had answered his page. It seemed like centuries had passed before it came.

"Charlie, do not attack! I have something very important to show you, and I'm sure it will change your mind about everything!" Kirk said.

For a long time all Kirk heard from the communicator was the crackle of static.

"Spock, is he powering up the antiproton beam?" Kirk said.

"It appears not, captain. The amount of subspace interference has remained constant every since he came out of warp," Spock said.

"Kirk," Charlie's voice came over the communicator.

"Charlie? Stop your attack! You've got to let me see you, one last time!" Kirk said.

"At my current velocity I will be in range of Thasia in 41 minutes. You have that long," Charlie said.

"Thank you!" Kirk said, and flipped the communicator shut. He leapt to his feet and grabbed the portable computer he'd wedged against his chair when he set down, and threw the carrying strap over his shoulder. He bolted to the turbo-lift.

41 minutes… That would be just enough time.

* * *

Charlie looked even more strung out than when Kirk had seen him last. The dark bags under his eyes convinced Kirk that he still required sleep.

"Kirk, Jim… Nice to see you. What did you want to show me?" Charlie said, a dull fascination in his eyes.

Kirk walked laid the portable computer down on a flat and empty spot on one of the navigation consoles. He pressed a button on the computer's console and a small screen emerged from inside it.

"This is something similar to what you saw on Thasia, where you watch things happen on a viewscreen. The difference is that these things are fake, and made ahead of time. Since they're recorded, you can rewatch them as many times as you want," Kirk said.

"That sounds dull," Charlie said. "What's the point, if it isn't real?"

"You should give it a chance, Charlie," Kirk said, holding up the card. "This story is the highest rated one in the history of the human race. Never before or after would so many people watch one fictional production at the same time."

"What's the point of this, Kirk?" Charlie said, annoyed.

"It's just something I want to share… with my friend," Kirk said.

Charlie suddenly sat up, a little bit of the sparkle returned to his eyes.

Kirk smiled and slid the data card into the computer.

They sat and watched the monochrome recording, the silence only broken by the occasionally laugh from himself or Charlie.

Kirk hadn't seen the recording before, though he knew it by reputation. The simple country folk, living out in the swamps in their shack, hunting for food. The wise old man, the shrill but hilarious old woman, the blonde bombshell and her stupid cousin. Then their lives are disrupted by the discovery of oil, and riches untold, and they're on their way to live with other rich people in a place not far from where Starfleet Command now was.

As the credits rolled Charlie cheered. "Whooo-doggie! That was great! There are more of these?"

"Yes, I think about 200 or so," Kirk said.

"Let's watch another one!" Charlie said.

"We're almost within firing range, though," Kirk said.

Charlie's grin fell, he slumped his shoulders.

"You'd forgotten about that, hadn't you?" Kirk said.

Charlie locked eyes with Kirk. "What you said earlier… you were right. I don't want to do this. I just want to be free to live my own life!"

"I think you need to accept that the changes the Thassians have made make it impossible for you to live among humans," Kirk said.

"But I don't want to live on Thasia!" Charlie yelled.

"You'd have this, and plenty of others; the _Enteprise_ 's library computer is chock-full of these things," Kirk said.

Charlie stared at the portable computer with a wantonness he'd only shown for Janice Rand before.

"And all you have to do to get it… is stop your attack," Kirk said.

"I'll do you one better," Charlie said. Suddenly the ship lurched as every molecule of it shook from a violent shockwave.

"Charlie, what did you do?" Kirk said accusingly.

His communicator started beeping, he absentmindedly flipped it open.

"Kirk here,"

"Captain, are you alright?" Spock's voice said.

"Yes, we're all fine here, Mr. Spock. What's happened?" Kirk said.

"The world killer has been destroyed, however inexplicably we have survived the shockwave from the explosion with no damage," Spock said.

"I think Mr. Evans is to thank for that," Kirk said. "Kirk, out."

Kirk flipped the communicator shut and looked at Charlie, who was now grinning.

"That thing was pure neutronium!" Kirk said, aghast. "How were you able to-"

"Oh come on, captain! Destroying neutronium is easy. Comedy," he said, motioning to the portable computer. "Now, that's hard."

* * *

"Captain, I've finished compiling the list you requested," Uhura said, handing him the clipboard.

"All the classics, it looks like," McCoy said, reading over his shoulder. " _The Beverly Hillbillies_ , _I l Love Lucy_ , _The Untouchables_ , _Mission Impossible_ , _Mannix_ , _T.J. Hooker_ …"

"I love that one," Kirk said with a smile.

"You should make sure to include some _Mobile Suit Gundam_ if you can," Sulu said.

"I'll make a note of it, Mr. Sulu," Kirk said.

Charlie had landed his ship in the hangar after they'd had their talk. He had declined to come with Kirk to the bridge, much rather going to his old quarters so he could finish watching the first season of _The Beverly Hillbillies_.

The shimmering green face of the Thassian appeared in the air before assembled group.

"Captain, while I appreciate your efforts on our behalf, you must know that it was unnecessary, we were never in any danger from the Duzer superweapon," the Thassian said.

"I'm not so sure about that. On our way back to the _Enteprise_ Charlie informed me that he chose the planet killer specifically. The gamma rays produced by proton annihilation are the most energetic known, in such high concentrations they would have disrupted your energy forms and probably killed you," Kirk said.

The Thassian said nothing for several moments; although his face betrayed no emotion, Kirk assumed he felt the same type of exasperation he felt when Charlie outsmarted him. He found that somehow comforting.

"Then I believe we, as you say, 'owe you one'," the Thasian said.

"I would like to beam down with Charlie, if that is possible," Kirk said.

"That isn't necessary Captain. Your barbaric solution has damaged the boy's mind. He will find fewer and fewer occasions to use his powers as the addiction progresses. His skills will atrophy and eventually he will forget how to use his powers entirely," the Thasian said. "I can't believe you would do something to terrible to one of your own people."

"We raise our children in our own way," Kirk said.

"As you say. I hope our races will never cross paths again," the Thasian said, then vanished.

After a moment McCoy piped up. "He has a point, you know. There's a reason people don't use television to raise their children anymore."

"It's not that bad; a way of keeping unruly children out of trouble," Kirk said.

"But what happens if Mr. Evans grows tired of his addiction to media and seeks other sources of stimulus?" Spock said.

"Mr. Spock, you don't know humans very well," Kirk said with a wry grin.

All of the humans laughed.

Spock stared at them, nonplussed, then walked back his station.

The End


End file.
